"Abd-ul-Mejid (1823-1861), Sultan of Turkey," by Sir David Wilkie, 1785-1841

Abd-ul-Mejid (1823-1861), Sultan of Turkey. Sir David Wilkie (1785-1841). 1840. Oil on panel. 70.2 x 58.7 x 1.7 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external). RCIN 407268. Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2024. By kind permission. Commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee

As Wilkie wrote to his nephew, Lieut-Colonel Wilkie, from Alexandria in 1841, "If the travelling has been interrupted by many delays which war and the derangements of war have occasioned, I have this to console me, that while kept waiting in Constantinople I had the honour of painting two portraits of the Sultan, now gone to England" (qtd. in Sutherland-Gower 80). The commentary on the Royal Collection Trust's website explains that one was intended as a present for Queen Victoria, but the Queen ended up buying it. It was recorded in 1859 as hanging in the Grand Corridor at Windsor Castle. The Trust's commentary continues, "The Sultan is shown seated on a red and gold upholstered sofa, facing slightly to the right with his head turned half to the left; wearing dark dress uniform with knee breeches and silk stockings, a cape and a red fez, the Order of Glory about his neck; holding his sword with both hands over his knees."

In his letter to his nephew, Wilkie adds, "while delayed here in Alexandria, waiting for the steamer, I have had the honour of being requested by His Highness Mehemet Ali to paint his portrait, which I now take to England to finish for His Highness" (qtd. in Sutherland-Gower 80). This, then, was quite a fruitful delay. Sadly, the artist never completed his voyage home.

Links to Related Material

Bibliography

Abd-ul-Mejid (1823-1861), Sultan of Turkey. Royal Collection Trust. Web. 1 April 2024.

Sutherland-Gower, Lord Ronald. Sir David Wilkie. London: G. Bell & Sons, 1902. Internet Archive, from a copy in Cornell University Library. Web. 1 April 2024.

Created 1 April 2024